Legislation to further protect public health and prevent disease has been
introduced into the House of Assembly. A bill titled An Act to Regulate
the Personal Services Industry will receive second reading in the House
of Assembly today. This legislation will regulate the personal services
industry including tattooing, body piercing establishments and indoor
tanning facilities in Newfoundland and Labrador.

“Our government is ensuring that the personal services industry is
regulated in a manner that protects public health and puts in place
safeguards for clients and employees alike,” said the Honourable Susan
Sullivan, Minister of Health and Community Services. “These regulations will
reduce the risk of transmission of blood-borne diseases during procedures
performed at personal services establishments and help reduce the incidence
of diseases such as skin cancer related to ultraviolet radiation exposure in
tanning facilities.”

Through the Personal Services Act the regulations will:

Prohibit indoor tanning facilities from offering services to persons
under the age of 19;

Prohibit personal services establishments from offering invasive
body modification procedures such as scarring, sub-dermal implants,
branding, skin peeling and tongue splitting to persons under the age of
19;

Prohibit personal services establishments from offering body
piercing and tattooing services to persons under the age of 16 without
the written consent of a young person’s parent or guardian;

Require personal services establishments and tanning facilities to
provide information to clients on the health risks of the services to be
provided and to post health warning signs in the premises;

Require personal services establishments and tanning facilities to
comply with provincial health standards that will be developed; and,

Require personal services establishments and tanning facilities to
register their business with Service NL.

“The Personal Services Act will continue the Provincial
Government’s commitment to protect public health by implementing for the
first time in this province a new regulatory environment for personal
services establishments and tanning facilities,” said Minister Sullivan. “We
have heard from operators of personal services establishments and tanning
facilities who support the development of health and safety standards and we
will collaborate with industry representatives to develop these standards.
We committed to developing appropriate standards for the industry to protect
public health and safety in the 2011 Blue Book. Today, we are delivering on
that commitment.”

To ensure that there is compliance with this new legislation, an
inspection program will be developed before the Personal Services Act
comes into force.

“Service NL will work with the Department of Health and Community
Services on the development of policies and procedures related to
inspections and enforcement,” said the Honourable Paul Davis, Minister of
Service NL. “We will rely upon our experience in the inspection and
enforcement of other health protection legislation to help develop polices
required to enforce this new legislation.”

The act will allow inspectors with Service NL to enter premises to issue
orders to correct deficiencies or for the closure of operations in more
serious cases when risks to health are identified during an inspection.
Staff and owners of these businesses who fail to comply with the
requirements under the Personal Services Act and its regulations will
face a fine. Fines for failing to comply with the Personal Services Act
will range between $50 and $5,000.

“These regulations are appropriate and necessary as the personal services
and tanning industry continues to grow,” said Minister Sullivan. “There are
studies that show increased rates of skin cancer among young people being
linked to ultraviolet light exposure, and there have been incidents where
personal services have been performed on people which have lead to serious
health outcomes. It is our government’s responsibility to protect public
health, as well as ensure that businesses have regulations to guide their
business practices.”